As forecast in our previous discussion, on April 4th President Trump signed House Joint Resolution 83. This was the final action to complete the Congressional Review Act (CRA) process, disposing of the “Volks Rule” and reinstating to the six-month statute of limitations for recordkeeping activities.

Strong disagreement over the merits of the Volks Rule remain. One former OSHA official from the Obama administration and Senator Patty Murray criticize the end of the rule, but Republicans and employers lauded the decision, describing the Volks Rule as an example of an unlawful power grab, resulting in a heavy-handed regulation that focused solely on paperwork errors with marginal benefits for worker safety.

It will be extremely difficult for a future administration to resuscitate the Volks Rule or implement a similar requirement. The CRA prevents future administrations from passing substantially similar regulations unless Congress passes a law that specifically authorizes regulations in that field.